Drycleaner apparatus



y 31, 1965 J. A. MINI-IHNNETT 3,253,431

DRYCLEANER APPARATUS Filed April 16, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. l.

WASH CYCLE l I FILTER OUTLET TUB DUMP VALVE CHARGE SOLVENT STORAGE TAN K 27 TANK T|ME'R BACKWASH OPEN 28 LOSED C 33 UNLOCK CLOSED L2 IZOV N IZOV TO A.C. POWER SOURCE lNVENTOP JA MES A. M/NH/NNE 77 BY Wfi FMM L A 7' TORNEV May 31, 1966 J. A. MINHINNETT 3,

DRYCLEANER APPARATUS Filed April 16, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.2.

I FILTER OUTLET CHARGE TANK SOLVENT STORAGE TANK I TIMER OPEN BACKWASH 5E UNLOCK CLOSED L2 |2OV N IZOV V TO A.C. POW ER SOURCE y 1, 1966 J. A. MINHINNETT 3,253,431

DRYCLEANER APPARATUS Filed April 16, 1964 :s Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig.3.

AUTOMATIC BACKWASH I I FILTER OUTLET CHARGE TANK SOLVENT STORAGE TANK TIMER CLOSED 2a BACKWASH 33 UNLOCK POWER SOURCE United States Patent 3,253,431 DRYCLEANER APPARATUS James A. Minhinnett, Mansfield, Ohio, assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Apr. 16, 1964, Ser. No. 360,269 Claims. (Cl. 68-12) This invention relates to drycleaning apparatus and particularly to automatically operating machines placed at the service of the public and operated by the deposit of coins.

The object of the invention is to provide automatically operating backwash means to keep the filter in good condition over a longer life and to avoid shut down periods costly in labor and time.

In accordance with this invention a plurality of valves installed in the piping of such a machine, heretofore used by an attendant to backwash the filter when the device was taken out of service are now replaced by a pair of electrically operated diverter valves and these are operated from the conventional timer of the device at the end of the cycle during a short period when the device is normally shut down and while it is being unlocked and readied for the next use.

The invention, in a specific embodiment herein disclosed, is applied to a coin operated machine which, after being loaded by a customer, is closed and then looked and is not again unlocked until a complete cycle of operations has been performed, during which the various operations are controlled by a conventional timer, these operations including a final one minute operation of an unlocking means. During this final period the pump for the normal circulation of drycleaning solvent is usually stopped. However, advantage is now taken of this period to keep the pump in operation and to maintain the circulation of solvent, at the same time through the operation of a pair of diverter valves causing its direction of circulation through the filter to be reversed so that the filter is maintainedin a cleaner condition for an extended life.

A feature of the invention is the incorporation in the system of the drycleaning machine of automatically operated diverter valves for changing the direction of the passage of solvent through the filter of such a machine and making this operation a regular step in the series of operations directed by the timer whereby the cleaning of the filter at regular intervals becomes certain and does not depend on the whim of an attendant. Through the use of this feature the useful life of the filter is extended and the number of cycles of operation within a given period is increased, a matter of considerable economy.

The diverter valve herein used is what may be termed a conventional plumbing accessory by which fluid may- Another feature of the invention resides in a first di-- verter valve for the inlet and a second diverter valve for .the outlet of the filter, each of said valves having an inlet piped to a common pump outlet whereby when said valves are operated to deliver liquid to one or another outlet from a said other or a said one of said valves, the direction of liquid flow through the said filter will be reversed, both of these valves being electrically operated simultaneously from a first common timer contact. In accordance with this feature the pump for forcing liquid to its said common outlet and which would normally be inactivated at the stage where said timer releases said first contact will be maintained in operation by a second contact used also for operating said diverter valves.

Another feature of the invention is the certainty of establishing the proper routing for the flow of liquid solvent when the backwash operation is to be carried out. Where a plurality of manually operated valves must be closed and another plurality must be opened, there is likelihood of confusion with the result that the desired operation may not be properly carried out. With the present arrangement the switching is adjusted swiftly and automatically and no erroneous operation through a lapse is possible.

The drawings consist of three sheets having three figures, as follows:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic showing of the piping and the electrical connections effective during the Wash cycle of the drycleaning machine showing the path taken by the solvent as it is circulated;

FIG. 2 is a similar view showing the arrangements effective during a normal filtration cycle, and

FIG. 3 is a similar view showing the arrangements effective during the automatic backwash cycle.

The drycleaning machine depicted herein has a tub l into which clothing fabrics may be placed and into which a conventional drycleaning solvent may be pumped. When a sufficient quantity of this liquid has been run into the tub the excess enters the overflow device 2 and is then conveyed by the overflow pipe 3 into the charge tank 4 where a screen button trap 5 extracts solids cleaned from the fabrics in the tub. The purely liquid solvent is then circulated through the pipe 6 to the solvent tank 7. To maintain the circulation of solvent during the wash cycle, the pump 8 is placed in operation so that solvent flows to the pump inlet 9, to the pump outlet 10 which has a double outlet 11 and 12 leading to the diverter valves 13 and 14 respectively. The diverter valve 14 has two outlets, one leading through the inlet 15 to the filter 16 and the other leading through the duct 17 to charge tank 4 where a fabric backwash bag 18 is suspended to extract solids washed from the filter during the backwash cycle as will appear hereinafter. The outlet 19 from the filter leads to the diverter valve 13 which has an outlet 20 leading to another diverter valve 21 having one duct 22 leading to the top of the tub I and another duct 23 leading back to the solvent tank 7.

Each of the diverter valves 13, 14 and 21 has a solenoid means, 24, 25 and 26 respectively for operating means here shown schematically as a flap cutting off access to the third inlet or outlet of the valve.

The machine is equipped with a conventional timer 27 which has a plurality of electrical contacts therein normally open, but closed by the timer in accordance with a predetermined program. In each of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 the three contacts shown are labelled as being closed or open.

By way of example in FIG. 1, the wash cycle, the contacts 28 are noted as being open and the contacts 29 and 30 are noted as being closed. During this wash cycle the main relay 31 which controls a number of the functions, of the machine is operated to, among other functions, operate the pump 8. The contacts 29 are closed so that the solenoid 26 is operated to give clear access from the duct 20 to the duct 22. The liquid solvent then flows over the route indicated by the arrows within the various pipes. In the wash cycle this is from the solvent storage tank 7, the duct 9, the pump 8, the outlet 10 and its branch 12, the diverter valve 14, the inlet 15 to the filter 16, the outlet 19, the diverter valve 13, duct 20, the diverter valve 21, duct 22 into the tub 1. From the tub, the overflow is routed through pipe 3, the trap in the charge tank 4 and back to the solvent storage tank 7.

Some time following the wash cycle another cycle, such as a drain cycle, is signalled by the timer 27 in which the timer contacts 29 are opened whereupon the diverter valve 21 is returned to its normal condition so that solvent from the filter 16 is now shut 01f from the tub I and diverted to the solvent storage tank 7. While no solvent overflows from the tub I there may be some coming from the dump valve 32 and this flows through the duct 3, the trap 5 in the charge tank 4, and back through the duct 6 to the storage tank 7. During this cycle the main relay 31 is operated and the pump 8 is kept in operation thereby. Consequently solvent is circulated in what may be termed a normal filtration cycle which serves to clean liquid soils from the solvent.

At the termination of all the normal cycles of the machine there is a short period shut down operation during which the timer contacts 28 only are closed to operate the unlock solenoid 33. In accordance with the present invention the backwash relay 34 is wired in parallel with this unlock relay 33 and this relay operates to maintain the pump 8 in operation. At the same time the diverter valve coils 24 and 25 also wired in parallel with the unlock relay 33 now operate so that solvent from the branch 11 of the pump outlet now fiows through the diverter valve 13, the outlet 19 of the filter, backwardly through the filter 16, the filter inlet 15, the diverter valve 14, the duct 17 into the fabric bag 18 hung in the charge tank 5 and thence back into the solvent storage tank 7. During this backwash cycle any soils accumulated on the filter paper are trapped in the fabric bag 18.

The backwash cycle, taking part of every operation of the drycleaning machine keeps the filter in better condition so that a longer life is attained and the use of solvent in cleaner condition affords a more efficient cleaning operation.

What is claimed is:

1. In a dry cleaning machine, a storage tank for holding liquid solvent, a pump having an outlet with two branches for moving liquid solvent from said storage tank to said outlet, a filter for cleaning soils from said solvent, said filter having inlet means and outlet means for conveying solvent through said filter, a first diverter valve interconnecting one of said branches and said inlet means, a second diverter valve interconnecting the other of said branches and said outlet means, a charge tank including a backwash bag, conduit means providing a flow path from said first diverter valve to said backwash bag, a tub for containing fabrics to be cleaned by said liquid solvent, means including a plurality of conduits interconnecting said second diverter valve and said tub and said second diverter valve and said storage tank and adapted to alternately direct liquid solvent from said second di verter valve into said tub during a normal wash cycle or into said storage tank during a filtering cycle, valve actuating means for conditioning said diverter valves whereby solvent flows from said pump through said first diverter valve, said filter and then said second, diverter valve during a wash cycle and filtration cycle, said valve actuating means also being adapted to condition said diverter valves to effect flow of solvent through said second diverter valve, said filter, said first diverter valve and then into said backwash bag during a backwash cycle for cleaning said filter, said backwash bag being effective to extract solids Washed from the filter during the backwash cycle.

2. Structure as specified in claim 1, wherein said means interconnecting said second diverter valve and said tub comprises a tub diverter valve and actuating means adapted to condition said tub diverter valve for directing flow of solvent into the tub during a wash cycle or into the storage tank during a filtration cycle.

3. Structure as specified in claim 2, including routing means including a screen, said routing means interconnecting said tub and said storage tank whereby said screen is effective to extract solids cleaned from said fabrics in said tub upon flow of solvent through said screen from said tub to said storage tank.

4. Structure as specified in claim 2 including a timer having a plurality of electrical contacts operated thereby for controlling the conditioning of said valves by said valve actuating means in accordance with a prearranged schedule including first, a washing'cycle, second, a filtration cycle, and third, a backwashing cycle.

5. Structure as specified in claim 2, including a timer having a plurality of electrical contacts operated thereby for controlling the conditioning of said valves by said valve actuating means in accordance with a prearranged schedule including a short interval shut down operation as the last of said operations, and shut down timer contacts in said timer adapted to effect conditioning of said valves by said valve actuating means for automatic backwashing of said filter during said short interval shut down operation.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 103,280 5/1870 Barrows 210-425 2,044,096 6/1936 Moran 6818.1 X 2,828,862 4/1958 Johnson 6818.1 X 3,089,325 5/1963 Robbins et al. 6818.1 3,110,544 11/1963 Moulthrop 68-18.0 X 3,170,314 2/1965 Worst 68-12 FOREIGN PATENTS 909,927 4/ 1954 Germany.

WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner. WILLIAM I. PRICE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A DRY CLEANING MACHINE, A STORAGE TANK FOR HOLDING LIQUID SOLVENT, A PUMP HAVING AN OUTLET WITH TWO BRANCHES FOR MOVING LIQUID SOLVENT FROM SAID STORAGE TANK TO SAID OUTLET, A FILTER FOR CLEANING SOILS FROM SAID SOLVENT, SAID FILTER HAVING INLET MEANS AND OUTLET MEANS FOR CONVEYING SOLVENT THROUGH SAID FILTER, A FIRST DIVERTER VALVE INTERCONNECTING ONE OF SAID BRANCHES AND SAID INLET MEANS, A SECOND DIVERTER VALVE INTERCONNECTING THE OTHER OF SAID BRANCHES AND SAID OUTLET MEANS, A CHARGE TANK INCLUDING A BACKWASH BAG, CONDUIT MEANS PROVIDING A FLOW PATH FROM SAID FIRST DIVERTER VALVE TO SAID BACKWASH BAG, A TUB FOR CONTAINING FABRICS TO BE CLEANED BY SAID LIQUID SOLVENT, MEANS INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF CONDUITS INTERCONNECTING SAID SECOND DIVERTER VALVE AND SAID TUB AND SAID SECOND DIVERTER VALVE AND SAID STORAGE TANK AND ADAPTED TO ALTERNATELY DIRECT LIQUID SOLVENT FROM SAID SECOND DIVERTER VALVE INTO SAID TUB DURING A NORMAL WASH CYCLE OR INTO SAID STORASGE TANK DURING A FILTERING CYCLE, VALVE ACTUATING MEANS FOR CONDITIONING SAID DIVERTER VALVES WHEREBY SOLVENT FLOWS FROM SAID PUMP THROUGH SAID FIRST DIVERTER VALVE, SAID FILTER AND THEN SAID SECOND DIVERTER VALVE DURING A WASH CYCLE AND FILTRATION CYCLE, SAID VALVE ACTUATING MEANS ALSO BEING ADAPTED TO CONDITION SAID DIVERTER VALVES TO EFFECT FLOW OF SOLVENT THROUGH SAID SECOND DIVERTER VALVE, SAID FILTER, SAID FIRST DIVERTER VALVE AND THEN INTO SAID BACKWASH BAG DURING A BACKWASH CYCLE FOR CLEANING SAID FILTER, SAID BACKWASH BAG BEING EFFECTIVE TO EXTRACT SOLIDS WASHED FROM THE FILTER DURING THE BACKWASH CYCLE. 